Archive of Our Own

Starsky laid in bed naked, stretching languidly as he awoke from sleep. Rolling on his side, he propped his head on his hand, taking in the handsome face of his lover in slumber. While his other hand searched and quickly found his naked lover’s cock, under the covers. Starsky began to stroke it, watching for signs of him stirring.

Hutch stretched, moaning softly. His eyes slowly opened, to find his lover looking down at him, grinning.

“Mornin’.”

“Mornin’ yourself, but I think I need to put a good in front of that, considering that you’re makin’ it a very good mornin’ for me.” Hutch moaned, as he could feel his pending orgasm rising.

Starsky didn’t respond. He just concentrated on bringing his lover off. He could tell Hutch was close, his face contorted, and his eyes were shut tight. Suddenly, cum poured all over his hand, as Hutch came hard.

Hutch opened his eyes, sighing loudly. “That was wonderful Starsk, but what’s the occasion?”

“Whadaya’ talkin’ about?” Starsky leaned over and grabbed a tissue off the nightstand to wipe his hand.

Hutch sat up. “The last time you woke me up like that was on my birthday and I know it isn’t my birthday, so what is it?”

Starsky sat crossed legged on the bed. “Well, it is that special time of year.”

“And what time of the year is that?”

Starsky blinked at his oblivious lover. “Hutch, do you mean to tell me you don’t know it’s Christmas in a few days?”

“Oh that.” Hutch placed an arm over his eyes.

“Yeah, oh that. Don’t tell me you’re still on that trip about not wantin’ to get caught up in euphoric sentimentalism.”

Hutch looked over at him. It had been a year since that day when he had told Starsky that he wasn’t going to fall for that. And since that day, there’s been some major changes to their relationship. They were now lovers and were sharing a house together. After Starsky had been kidnapped by that crazed cult, Hutch felt himself being more protective of his partner. That protectiveness brought feelings out in Hutch that he hadn’t realized was there all along. Starsky liked the attention Hutch was giving him. It made him feel loved and cared for, in a way that he never knew before. Soon, their true feelings for each other came to the surface. They had always loved each other-- emotionally and physically. They were constantly touching each other, but one time that all changed. One night when Starsky was over at Hutch’s for dinner, that love turned sexual and their relationship has never been the same.

“Starsk, I did get you a Christmas gift, don’tcha’ remember?”

“Oh yeah, I remember. You got me that certificate for a dumb tree in the park.”

“Starsk, that wasn’t a dumb tree. It was planted in your honor.”

“I don’t care. You knew I wanted a caboose for my train set.” He pouted, adorably.

“Wow, I had no idea you didn’t like it that much.”

“Well, at the time, I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

“But now it’s okay to hurt my feelings.”

Starsky looked at Hutch, sighing. “That’s not it Hutch-- I was just disappointed and now you’re tellin’ me that you still feel the same way about Christmas.”

Hutch sat up and reached out for Starsky, but he moved closer to the edge of the bed out of reach.

“Come on Starsk-- don’t get like this. I don’t feel the way I did last year about Christmas.”

Starsky looked back. “You don’t? Then why are you actin’ like you don’t care.”

“I care Starsk, it’s just that…”

“It’s just that what?” Starsky turned around to face Hutch.

Hutch rubbed the back of his neck, blowing out his breath. “It’s just that my family and I never really celebrated Christmas, so when I grew up, I just thought of it as just another day. I had to try to ignore the way the rest of the world felt.”

“I get that you might not want to celebrate, but why does it seem like you’re angry about it, huh?”

“I’m not angry. It’s that over the years, I’ve watched how people celebrate Christmas. The stores are filled with people spending money they don’t have, and everyone’s supposed to be happy.”

“It sounds to me like you still have a problem with euphoric sentimentalism.” Starsky raised his eyebrows at his lover.

Hutch thought about it. “I guess I do.”

“I don’t get it. After that wonderful moment last Christmas when Kiko’s mom adopted Molly-- I thought it would have changed your attitude about Christmas.”

“Starsk, Kiko’s mom adopting Molly had nothin’ to do with Christmas.”

“Ahhh!” Starsky got off the bed, and walked barefoot around the bedroom, grabbing his head, in frustration.

“Starsk, there’s no reason to get so upset. It’s just the way I feel.”

Starsky stopped pacing and stood in front of Hutch. “Ya’ know, I’m gonna’ start callin’ you the Grinch. I suppose you’ll give me a horrible Christmas present again this year, if you give me one at all.”

“Starsk please…” Hutch reached out to touch his irate lover, but Starsky turned away. He padded to the dresser and pulled out his cut-off jeans and a red shirt. He put them on, along with his sneakers.

“I gotta’ get outta’ here for a while.” Starsky walked out the front door, slamming it.

Hutch fell back on the bed, rubbing his hands over his face. All the years that he and Starsky were working partners, he always knew he loved Christmas. He had an adorable, child-like attachment to the season. He told Hutch that his mom was big on Christmas and decorating. Since his dad was killed, she wanted to make sure they still celebrated Christmas. They had a seven foot tree that he and his brother got from a neighborhood tree lot and would bring it in their small apartment. The tree would almost take up their entire living room, but they made it work. They’d decorate it on Christmas Eve and she would let them they could open one gift each. His mother was an amazing woman-- to be able to raise two kids alone, as well as make sure they still had a wonderful childhood.

Every Christmas, Starsky would be so excited. Hutch tried to be as excited, but he just didn’t feel it. Starsky would try to get him in the holiday spirit by making him watch all the Christmas movies, which made him feel worse. He’d take Hutch to a ski resort-- even though he didn’t ski-- just for the holiday ambiance. He would buy him a gift every Christmas-- gifts that were thoughtful, and Hutch would always think up a reason why he didn’t. Last year was the first Christmas that he gave Starsky a gift and it wasn’t something that he really wanted.

Hutch felt bad that Starsky was so upset. Starsky thought that he had changed, but he hadn’t. He was still very cynical about Christmas, but the last thing he wanted was to cause his lover any distress. He got out of the bed and padded into the shower. While he was drying himself off, he heard Starsky coming back in. Hutch wrapped a towel around his waist and one around his neck, then went out of the bathroom, into the bedroom. He saw Starsky pulling his shirt over his head.

“Where’d ya’ go?” Hutch smiled, leaning against the door frame, holding onto the ends of the towel around his neck.

Starsky stopped, looked back, then continued to undress. “I went for a run.”

When he was naked, he padded pass Hutch, then stopped just before he went in. “You finished with the bathroom?”

Hutch nodded, as he watched him disappear into the bathroom, shutting the door. He knew Starsky was still very upset. He took the towel from around his neck and rubbed it on his head, drying his hair. Then he walked barefoot to the dresser, pulled out an old pair of sweats and a t-shirt and put them on. He threw the wet towels on the floor, then padded down to the kitchen. He needed to make it up to Starsky, so he decided to make his favorite breakfast-- waffles, sausage, scrambled eggs. He knew how much Starsky loved caramel, so whenever he made him coffee, he’d pour some caramel sauce into it.

Starsky got out of the shower and went to the dresser, pulled out a red t-shirt and his cutoff jeans and put them on, sans underwear and shoes. Hutch could hear stirring coming from the bedroom, so he knew Starsky was out of the shower. He wondered if he would come down to breakfast at all. Just then, he heard Starsky coming down the stairs. Hutch figured nothing-- even anger-- would stop him from eating. He looked back as he entered the kitchen.

“Hey, didn’t think you were comin’ down for breakfast, but I’m glad ya’ did. I’m makin’ all your favorites.” Hutch sounded eager and happy, to try to put his lover in a better mood.

Starsky went to the cabinet, took down a glass, then opened the fridge, taking out a container of milk. He poured the milk into the glass, placed the milk back in the fridge, then grabbed a banana.

“No thanks.” Starsky went into the living room and sat down on the couch, putting his feet on the coffee table and began to eat his own breakfast.

Hutch lowered his head, closing his eyes. This was too much. He and Starsky needed to talk. Hutch put down the bowl of waffle batter, pulled off his apron, then went into the living room. He looked down at Starsky, who was ignoring him-- watching TV, eating his banana, and drinking his milk. Hutch went over to the TV and shut it off.

“Hey! I was watchin’ that!” Starsky protested.

“We need to talk.” Hutch sat down next to him.

“There’s nothin’ to talk about. You don’t like Christmas. Now please turn the TV back on.”

“Starsk, it’s not that simple.”

Starsky glared at him, then got up to turn the TV back on. Once he did, he threw himself back down on the couch. Hutch immediately got up and turned it off again.

“I want the TV on!” Starsky was getting up to turn it on again when Hutch grabbed his arm. Starsky wrenched his arm out of Hutch’s grip, then walked out of the living room.

“Starsk, please, let’s talk.” Hutch got up and followed Starsky into the kitchen. He watched him put the empty glass into the sink, then place his hands on it with his head down. Hutch moved behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“It hurts Hutch. I thought when we decided to be in a relationship, you’d always be there for me.”

“Starsky, I am always there for you, you know that.”

Starsky swung around, facing him. “No, you’re not. You know how much Christmas means to me, but you don’t want to celebrate it with me.”

“Starsky, will you please come back to the couch, so we can talk.” Hutch looked at his lover, with gentle blue eyes and a charming heartwarming smile. Starsky could never resist it, so he turned and went back to sit on the couch. Hutch sat next to him, with Starsky waiting for him to speak.

“Starsk, I want to share your enthusiasm about Christmas...I really do.”

“So, what’s stoppin’ ya?”

“My memories.”

“Your memories? Whadaya’ mean?”

“Well, remember when I told you my family didn’t celebrate Christmas?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, there’s a reason.” Hutch looked over at Starsky, who was listening intently.

“I lied when I said I didn’t celebrate Christmas because I had a problem with all the euphoric sentimentalism. It’s really because when I was about ten years old, my father left home on Christmas Eve. He and my mother had a big fight and he hit her. When I tried to stop him, he threw me on the floor, then walked out. Christmas morning, my mother was so distraught she pushed over the decorated Christmas tree and destroyed all the gifts that were under it. Needless to say, we didn’t have a Christmas that year. The following years, she refused to celebrate because it brought back horrible memories of my father.” Hutch paused a moment to look at Starsky, who was looking at him with pain in his eyes.

Hutch continued, “He did come back two and a half years later and never told me or my mother where he was all that time. The sad thing was she took him back, without question. I hated him for what he did to my mother and our family. The first Christmas he was back, he suggested gettin’ a tree, but my mother wouldn’t have it, so we never celebrated the holiday again. Now Christmas reminds me of that horrible time.”

Starsky stared off into space, thinking about what his lover had just said. He had no idea this happened to Hutch. No wonder he wouldn’t want to celebrate a holiday that brought up a painful time in his life.

“Hutch, why didn’t you tell me this before? I would have understood.”

“I dunno’ Starsk. I know I should have. I guess I just wanted to make believe it didn’t happen. I’m sorry that my trauma has caused you so much pain.” Hutch grabbed Starsky’s hand and brought it to his lips.

“No need to apologize babe. I’m glad you finally told me.” Starsky leaned up and kissed Hutch, then looked into his eyes. “You mean so much to me. If celebratin’ Christmas is too painful for you, then we won’t celebrate it.”

Hutch leaned away from Starsky to look into his eyes. “No, Starsky, no! I’m not gonna’ let that happen! It’s time that I let that shit go! I fell in love with someone who loves Christmas and I’m not gonna’ take that away from him. It would be very selfish of me. We will celebrate Christmas this year!” Hutch announced with confidence and excitement.

Starsky sat back, with a look of shock. He’d never seen Hutch that excited about anything...other than that time he found something new to add to his smoothies.

“Um, Hutch is that what you really want to do?”

“Yes! Come on get ready to go!” Hutch got off the bed, then stepped out of his old sweatpants. He went to the closet and took out a pair of jeans and put them on, then grabbed his sneakers.

“What for?”

“What for?! So we can get Christmas stuff! This place needs decorating!”

“Hutch, are you okay? Ya’ got a fever or somethin’?” Starsky asked, concerned.

“I’m fine Starsk.” He grinned, lacing up his sneakers.

“Then why are you so suddenly in the holiday spirit?”

Hutch stopped dressing and turned towards his lover.

“Starsk, like I said-- I just realized that I need to stop avoidin’ Christmas. I need to stop allowing what happened to me to dictate the way I feel about Christmas for the rest of my life.”

Hutch moved closer to his lover. “Besides, my baby really loves Christmas and I’m not gonna’ deny you that or anything.” Hutch pulled his baby to him, kissing him and squeezing his ass.

Starsky moaned, then groaned as Hutch moved away.

“If we start anything, we’ll never get outta’ here.”

Starsky was still a bit dumbfounded about Hutch, but he figured it was a good thing that he was finally in the holiday spirit. He didn’t know how long it would last, so he decided to stop doubting it and just go with it. He put on his sneakers and waited for Hutch by the door.

They got in the Torino, with Starsky behind the wheel. Before starting the car, Starsky looked over at Hutch. “So, where we goin’?”

“Just drive and I’ll direct ya’.”

Starsky narrowed his eyes, then started up the car and drove to wherever
Hutch directed.

“Turn here.” Hutch pointed towards a Christmas tree lot. He directed him to pull into the parking lot.

“Whadaya’ we doin’ here?” Starsky looked from the trees to Hutch’s face.

“Whadaya’ think we’re here for? A Christmas tree, dummy.” Hutch got out of the car, leaving Starsky looking astonished.

Hutch bent down to peer into the car window. “Ya’ comin’? Come one.” Hutch grinned, then walked away. Starsky blinked twice, then got out of the car, and ran to catch up.

There were hundreds of trees-- various shapes and sizes. Starsky walked through them in awe.

“Wow! I’ve never seen so many trees! It’s like a forest!”

Hutch smiled at him. “Yeah, it is. Does this place look like the one you and your brother got your trees from?”

“No! This one is a lot bigger.” Starsky walked over to a tree, stood in front with his hands on his hips. “Hutch, c’mere.”

Hutch walked over and stood next to him. “It’s a beauty.”

“It looks just like one of the trees Nicky and I got for ma.”

“Really? How tall do you think it is?” Hutch walked closer, touching the branches.

Starsky stood back. “Probably seven feet.”

Just then, a worker strolled by. “Excuse me. How big is this tree?”

The worker looked up at the tree. “It’s seven feet.”

“I knew it! Thank you.” He glanced at Hutch. “This is basically the same tree!”

“Excuse me!” Hutch called to the same worker. “I’d like to buy this one,” he said, pointing to the tree.

Starsky blinked at Hutch with his mouth gaping open.

Hutch looked at him. “This is the one ya’ want, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t mean you should buy it. It must cost a fortune?”

Hutch looked at the tag. “Since I’ve never really bought one before I wouldn’t really know, but this one doesn’t seem too expensive. Besides, it’s the one you want.”

“Hutch, I know you’re tryin’ to make up for bein’ a Grinch and all, but we don’t have ta’ go into hock for you to do it.”

“Starsk, don’t worry about it. I do our budget, remember? We can afford it,” Hutch reassured with a smile.

“Okay-- if you say so.” A big grin appeared on Starsky’s face.

After paying for the tree, a worker helped them tie the tree to the top of the Torino. Starsky began to pace and rant about the tree possibly damaging his precious car.

“I hope the tree won’t damage the paint.” Starsky looked closely, investigation it for scratches. “We should have taken your car. If the tree did any damage, no one could tell.”

Hutch made a face at him. “Get in the car.”

Starsky got behind the wheel and drove them back to their house. Once there, they began to untie the ropes that held the tree on the roof.

Hutch stood back, wondering how they were going to get the thing inside.

“You have experience doing this-- how are we gonna’ get the tree into the house?”

“We’re gonna’ carry it.”

“I know that...but how?”

Starsky thought about it for a minute. “You take the base and I’ll take the top.”

Together, they took the tree off the roof of the car and struggled to get a hold of it.

“I got it, I got it!” Hutch yelled, as the base of the tree almost slipped out of his hand.

“Go slow.” Starsky led them up to the front door.

“We’re gonna’ have to put the tree down to open the door,” Hutch said, lowering his end of the tree to the ground.

“Okay-- you get the door open while I keep my end up.” Starsky was buried in the tree branches, trying to keep the tree from falling on top of him. “Hurry up, I’m losin’ my grip!”

Hutch hurriedly took the key from over the door sill, opened the door, then ran back to his end of the tree. He lifted it and Starsky guided the top of the tree into the house.

“Where are we gonna’ put it?” Starsky asked, struggling to keep the top of the tree up.

“How ‘bout that spot in front of the bay window?”

They carried the tree to that spot, then Starsky realized something...“The guy gave us a tree stand and we left it in the car. I’ll go get it.” Starsky laid the top of the tree down, then ran out to the car.

When he got back with the stand, Hutch was struggling to keep the base up. Starsky grabbed the tree in the middle, lifting it up.

“We have to get it in the stand,” Starsky panted.

“How are we supposed to do that?

“Well, we gotta’ figure a way, cause we can’t just leave it on the floor. I’ll continue to hold up the middle of the tree, while you try to lift the base and get it into the stand?” Starsky suggested.

“Okay. I can give it a try.” Hutch lifted the base, while Starsky guided the middle over the stand. “Help me lift it up.”

Starsky raised the tree, firmly grabbing the middle, while Hutch lifted the base, guiding it into the stand. After it dropped in, Starsky stretched out on the floor, exhausted. Hutch fell near him, and they both laid there breathing hard.

“Was it that hard when you and your brother did it?” Hutch panted.

“Well, I was fifteen and Nick was twelve, so yeah it was hard.”

“Was it worth it?”

Starsky sat up. “Oh yeah! Once the tree was all decorated with lights and ornaments, it was worth all the trouble of gettin’ it in our apartment.”

Starsky’s eyes widened, as something suddenly dawned on him.

“What’s the matter?” Hutch asked, sitting up.

“We didn’t buy any ornaments or lights!”

“I’m too tired to go back out now. Let’s get ‘em tomorrow, okay?” Hutch got himself up off the floor, with a groan.

“Okay, but first thing. I don’t want all the good ornaments to be gone.”

They both stepped back to look at the tree.

“Do you think it looks good there?” Hutch asked, pulling Starsky close.

“Yeah, it looks great! Everyone can see it from the outside.” Starsky looked at his lover. “Thanks babe.”

“Thanks for what?”

“For everything-- gettin’ this very special tree and for wantin’ to celebrate Christmas with me.” He gave Hutch a passionate kiss, then they fell into an embrace.

“It’s my pleasure Starsk. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

They stood holding each other as they continued to admire their tree.

“It really is a gorgeous tree,” Hutch smiled.

Starsky took his eyes off the tree to look at his lover. “The tree isn’t the only gorgeous thing in the room. Come on, let’s go upstairs.”

They placed a hand on each other’s butt cheek, as they climbed the stairs to their bedroom, shutting the door behind them.

Bright and early the next morning, they got ready to head out to buy the ornaments and lights for the tree. Starsky was so eager to get going that he didn’t want to waste time eating breakfast. Hutch thought he was sick or something, but Starsky assured him that he wasn’t- he was just really anxious to get going. Hutch insisted that he should eat something before they left, so Starsky reluctantly complied, gobbling down a glass of milk and two strawberry Pop Tarts—which Hutch made a face at.

Afterwards, Starsky drove them to the nearest department store. He led the way to the Christmas department, discovering that there were lots of ornaments to choose from.

“Terrific! They still have a lot!”

“How are we gonna’ do this?” Hutch wondered.

“Whadaya’ mean?”

“Are you gonna’ get the lights and I get the ornaments, or you get the ornaments and I’ll get the lights?”

“I thought we’d get ‘em together.”

“Okay…you’re runnin’ the show.” Hutch smiled.

They searched the lights section first. Hutch went down one aisle and Starsky went down another. Starsky found the ones he wanted, at the same time as Hutch.

“I found ‘em!” Starsky exclaimed, holding up a package of white lights.

Hutch on the other hand, held up a package of multi-colored lights.

Starsky frowned. “No, they have ta’ be white-- that’s what ma had every Christmas.”

“But Starsk, I think colored lights look better.”

“Every year, we got ma white lights and gold ornaments.”

“That sounds pretty, but doesn’t a traditional tree supposed to have colored lights and colorful ornaments?

“That’s the point—ma didn’t want a traditional lookin’ tree, she wanted somethin’ different, unique.”

Hutch sighed. “Okay Starsk if you really want white lights and gold ornaments then that’s what we’ll get. Hutch walked back to the aisle to put back his colored lights.

Starsky watched him, noticing how disappointed Hutch looked. Was he being selfish? After all, Hutch did buy a tree that reminded him of the one he used to get for his mom. Why does the decorations have to be the same as well? He thought about it for a minute, then walked over to Hutch.

“Hey Hutch, why don’t we get both?”

Hutch frowned, confused. “Whadaya’ mean get both?”

“You get colored lights and ornaments and I’ll get white lights and gold ornaments.” Starsky grinned, nodding.

“How are we gonna’ decorate the tree like that?”

“One side of the tree will be my decorations and the other with yours.”

Hutch’s frown increased. “Wouldn’t that look really weird?”

“I’d call it different, unique. Why don’t we give it a try? This way, we both get what we want.”

Hutch raised his eyebrows. “Okay, if you think it’ll look okay.”

“Yeah, I do. Look, I’ll get my decorations and you get yours, then we’ll meet by the check out, ‘kay?”

Hutch nodded and they proceeded to go their separate ways searching for the perfect ornaments to decorate their side of the tree.

After about fifteen minutes, Hutch was done and was standing near the check out. He looked around, but there were no signs of Starsky. Every five minutes or so, Hutch checked his watch to find that thirty minutes had passed with still no Starsky. He began to pace. After another ten minutes, Starsky appeared pushing a shopping cart full of stuff.

“Where’ve you been?! I’ve been waitin’ here for almost 45 minutes!” Hutch was a bit annoyed.

“I’m sorry Hutch but look-- I found a lot of great stuff!” Starsky took out a toy Santa Claus and held it up for him to see. “It sings!”

Starsky pressed a button, and the toy began to sing, We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

He grinned at Hutch, who wasn’t grinning back. “Whatsta’ matta’? You don’t like it?”

“Starsk, we don’t need it.” Hutch looked in Starsky’s shopping cart. There were plastic elves, candy canes, a wooden Nutcracker and a toy aluminum red truck with a tiny Christmas tree in the back.

“We don’t need any of this stuff either,” Hutch said, holding up toy reindeer with a flashing nose.

“That’s Rudolph-- he goes with the Santa.” Starsky told him that like it was obvious.

Hutch shook his head. “We don’t need all of this, Starsk.”

“Well, this isn’t all.”

“Whadaya’ mean this isn’t all?”

“I found some great stuff for the lawn too. They didn’t fit in the cart, so I had to leave there over there. I’ll get ‘em.” Starsky left the cart near Hutch then went to get what he left.

Hutch watched as Starsky appeared carrying a large blow mold snowman.

“Hold this and I’ll be right back.”

Hutch reluctantly held out his arms to grab the snowman, while Starsky went back to the area and came back carrying a huge box.

“Starsky, what the hell is all this!”

“Stuff for the lawn. See the picture on the box- Santa with his sleigh with four reindeer.”

“Starsky, we can’t buy all this!” he shouted, placing the snowman on the floor.

Starsky looked disappointed. “Why not?”

“Cause it’s just too much and too expensive.”

“No they’re not—they’re on sale.”

Hutch rubbed his hands across his face in frustration.

“You said you wanted to decorate the house and all this stuff will do that. Don’t tell me you’re turnin’ into the Grinch again?”

“That’s not fair! Just because I don’t want to spend our money on things we don’t need, doesn’t mean I’m turnin’ into a Grinch.”

“Hutch, all this stuff is what decoratin’ for Christmas is all about. Come on-- you said we can afford it before.

“Yeah, but that’s before you brought a shopping cart full of stuff and lawn decorations.”

“Ya’ gotta’ have lawn decorations Hutch. The house won’t look festive without ‘em.”

“Next ya’ gonna’ tell me we should put up lights around the house…NO!” Hutch shouted, before words could come out of Starsky’s open mouth.

Starsky looked at his lover with big, blue, soulful dog eyes.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” Starsky asked innocently, batting those soulful, blue eyes.

“You know like what. You’re bein’ adorable so I’ll give in and buy all this stuff.”

“Is it workin’? Starsky laid his head on Hutch’s shoulder, whimpering like a dog.

“Starsk, stop it, people are starin’ at us.” Hutch looked around, giving everyone an embarrassed grin.

“Can we buy everything?”

Hutch frowned and Starsky continued to whimper louder, raising his hands in a paw like gesture. Now, more people were staring and laughing. Hutch was mortified.

“Okay, okay! We can get everything in the cart- just stop it!”

“These too?” Starsky pointed at the lawn decorations.

“Yes!”

Starsky grinned broadly, happily pushing the cart to the checkout line, along with the lawn decorations. Hutch moved close, whispering menacingly in his ear…

“I can’t believe you did that.”

“Well, it worked, didn’t it?” Starsky asked, also whispering.

“This time—but I’m well aware that you coerced me into doin’ this.”

“And…?”

“And…if you do anything like this again, I’m gonna’…” Hutch threatened, pointing his finger at his lover.

“You’re gonna’ what? Bend me over and fuck my brains out?”

“Oh, I’ll bend you over alright…over my knee and tan that bubble butt of yours.”

“Ooo, ya’ promise?” Starsky was facing Hutch and didn’t realize the line had moved.

“Go…the line’s movin’,” Hutch told him with a wave of his hand.

Once they paid for everything, they hauled it all to the car, and placed them in the trunk.

They got into the car and once Hutch was in, Starsky looked over at him.

“That was fun, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, up until you turned into a dog.”

“I’m sorry I embarrassed you Hutch. I just really wanted you to agree to all the stuff. I won’t do it again.”

Hutch narrowed his eyes at him. He knew all too well that Starsky would do it again if given the chance.

“Yeah right.”

Starsky smiled. “So, can we start decoratin’ the tree as soon as we get home?”

“Don't ya’ wanna’ eat something first? I’m kinda’ hungry.” Hutch rubbed his stomach.

“Yeah, I guess.” With the anticipation of decorating, Starsky wasn’t thinking about his stomach…for once. “Let’s get somethin’ from the drive through.”

“Nah, no fast food. I’d rather fix somethin’ when we get home.”

“No, that’ll take too long. I wanna’ get started on decoratin’ as soon as possible.”

Hutch sighed. “Okay. We’ll get somethin’ from the drive thru.”

“Terrific!” Starsky pulled out onto the street, heading for the closest drive thru.

S&H~S&H~S&H~S&H

At Starsky’s insistence, they ate their meals in the car, then drove home. He got right to work, taking his lights out of the box. He put a step stool at the bottom of the tree, stepped up carrying the string of lights with him. Just as he was about to place the end on a top branch he suddenly stopped.

Hutch noticed his sudden hesitation. “What’s the matter’?”

“Somethins’ missin’?”

Hutch looked perplexed, as he watched Starsky go to their record collection, searching for something.

“Here it is!” Starsky held out an album.

“Laurence Welk?” Hutch frowned.

“Yeah. When I was a kid, my grandmother used to play Laurence Welk’s version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer from this album. We used to dance around the apartment to it, while we decorated.”

Starsky pulled it out of the sleeve and placed it on the turn table. He picked up the needle and tried to carefully put it down on the beginning of the song. Once he found it, the song played, and he glanced at Hutch with a big grin.

Starsky started singing along and dancing. He danced up to Hutch, grabbing his hands, so he could dance with him. As usual, Hutch humored him and danced. It wasn’t that he didn’t like to dance, it was just when Starsky wanted to-- he wasn’t always in the mood. He didn’t want to hurt his feelings, so he danced around for a little while, then stopped.

“Starsk, don'tcha’ think we should get back to puttin’ the lights on the tree?”

“Oh...yeah.” Starsky let the album continue to play, as he began to hang his lights again.

Hutch took his multicolored lights from the box. Before starting to hang them, he watched his lover. Starsky began hanging the lights on the top branches, so the plug would be at the bottom. Since he wasn’t going around the tree, he started zigzagging them back and forth.

“You really know what you’re doin’. Hutch grinned.

Starsky looked down at him. “Well, I’ve hung lights before, but not like this. I figured this would be the best way ta do it. You don’t have to do it like this yourself.”

“Oh, I think it’s the best way, so I’m gonna’ follow your lead. While you’re doin’ that, I’m gonna’ take the other stuff out of their packaging.” Hutch walked away to do just that.

“That’s a great idea! It shouldn’t take me too long since I’m only doin’ half the tree.”

By the time Hutch had unpackaged and unboxed everything they bought, he put them on the coffee table. Starsky was done with his side.

“I’m done—your turn.”

Starsky began to look over all the stuff they bought, then looked around to see where to put them in the living room. He decided to wait until the tree was done, so he concentrated on the outside of the house.

“Hey Hutch! I’m goin’ outside ta see where the outdoor decorations should go.”

Hutch looked down. “Okay.”

Starsky went outside and thought about where the blow mold Santa’s sleigh and four reindeers should go, as well as the blow mold snowman. As he walked further out on the lawn, Hutch came out of the house.

“I’m done with my side. Have you decided where to put this stuff?” Hutch asked, looking around, placing his hands on his hips.

“I wanted you to help me decide. Do you think the sleigh and reindeer should go here or there?” Starsky pointed at each spot.

“Oh, I dunno’ Starsk. This is your area of expertise.”

“Come on, can’t ya’ just gimme’ your opinion?”

Hutch thought about it. “Okay, how about putting em over there-- next to the bush,” he suggested, pointing.

“Next to the bush? Nah, no one would see em there?”

“Okay then, how about over there-- near the mailbox?”

“Too close to the street.”

“Starsky, you asked me for my opinion and you’re not agreein’ with anything I’ve suggested,” Hutch said, annoyed.

“Just because I asked you for your opinion, doesn’t mean I have to agree with it.”

“Fine!” Hutch stormed off and Starsky ran to stop him.

“Hutch wait!” Starsky grabbed his arm. “Don’t go! You can put it wherever you want. I know it’ll be the right place.”

“Starsk, please don’t patronize me!” he exclaimed, turning around.

“I’m not. I’m just gettin’ crazy tryin’ to make everything perfect. Wherever you want to put it is fine, really. Let’s not argue about it, ‘kay? This is supposed to be fun.” Starsky was holding Hutch’s hands, squeezing it.

Hutch gave in, pointing to the spot he originally said that was near the bush, but thought it over and realized Starsky was right. The bush’s branches would hide it if they put it there.

“I think you’re right Starsk, the sleigh would be hidden there-- how ‘bout putting it further away.”

Starsky looked where Hutch was pointing and nodded his head.

“That would be the perfect place! Let’s go get everything!” Starsky bounded inside, with Hutch following.

They brought everything outside and laid them on the lawn. Starsky started connecting the reindeers to the sleigh, while Hutch put the snowman on a spot he thought looked good.

“Hey Starsk! Is this a good spot for the snowman?”

“Yeah, that looks good.”

Hutch straighten it, so it wouldn’t topple over, then walked over to Starsky.

“Need some help?”

“Yeah. Can you put the blades on the sleigh and put Santa in it?”

“Sure can.” Hutch bent down, picking up one of the blades, then pushed them in the slots at the base of the sleigh. After that was done, he did the same with the other one. He turned the sleigh over onto the blades to see if it was leaning, but it wasn’t. Then he picked up the Santa Claus and placed it in the seat, securing it with the straps inside.

“That was pretty easy. Ya’ need any help with the reindeers?”

“Nope. I’m connecting the last one now. All I need to do is connect the back one to the sleigh and it’ll be all done.” Starsky did it and they stood back to admire their handiwork. “Looks good, huh?”

“Yeah, it does, it really does,” Hutch admitted, pulling Starsky close.

“Wait until it’s all lit up?”

“They light up?” Hutch asked, surprised.

“Yeah. It’s gonna’ look terrific, but I have to get some extension cords to connect them to the outlet in the house. I’ll do that tomorrow though. I want us to start decoratin’ the tree.”

“Do you know how to connect ‘em?”

“Yeah, ma showed me,” Starsky said with pride.

“Wow, your mom knew how to do a lotta’ things!”

“She had to. Once Dad died, she had to take over and do what needed to be done. Dad used to do a lot of the outside decoratin’ for the holidays. Since he wasn’t around anymore, she didn’t want anything to change for us, so she did it herself. We of course helped when we could, but she was pretty stubborn about the way she wanted things done.”

“That’s great Starsk.”

Starsky could hear a little sorrow in Hutch’s voice. He felt bad that Hutch didn’t have the kind of Christmas’ that he and his brother had. That made him even more determined to make this the best Christmas Hutch ever had.

“Hey Starsk?”

“Yeah?”

“Can we take a little break before we start decoratin’ the tree?”

“Sure-- it’s still pretty early.”

“Great!”

They walked back in the house, holding each other around the shoulders. Hutch immediately threw himself on the couch. Starsky was filled with too much Christmas decoratin’ adrenalin to sit, so he went in the kitchen.

“Hutch, ya’ thirsty!” he yelled from the kitchen.

“Yeah, whada’ we got?”

“Beer, soda, water…hey, how about some hot chocolate?”

“That sounds good.”

“Okay, two hot chocolates comin’ up!”

Starsky brought them out and handed one to Hutch. They both blew on them before taking a sip.

“Mmm, good, huh? Starsky smiled.

“Yep.”

“Hey, how ‘bout watchin’ a Christmas movie?” Starsky suggested, eagerly.

“A Christmas movie?”

“Yeah, there has to be some good ones on now.” Starsky turned on the TV and began searching for one.

“I’m sure there are,” Hutch said, sarcastically.

Hutch couldn’t show any enthusiasm for Christmas movies. He’s always found them too cheery and fake. Once he dated a woman, who loved them, so he’d have to endure sitting through them.

Starsky thumbed through the TV Guide to find one. “Hey! They’re showin’ Scrooge with Albert Finney! It’s a musical! Have you seen this one?”

“No, can’t say I have.” Hutch sipped his hot chocolate.

Starsky glanced at his watch. “It starts in ten minutes!” He turned on the TV, selected the channel and sat back, putting his feet on the table. He took a sip his hot chocolate, then glanced at Hutch.

“You’re gonna’ love this movie!”

They settled down to watch the movie. Throughout, Starsky was singing along with the songs. Hutch was never one for musicals, although there were some he enjoyed seeing with a girlfriend, such as, Fiddler on the Roof, Jesus Christ Superstar and Tommy. From time to time, his mother would take him to the movies, and she loved musicals. After the events of that Christmas, his mother gave up on a lot of things she enjoyed and that included- musicals.

Hutch had to admit the songs were really good, especially, Thank You Very Much. When that came on, Starsky not only sang along, but he got up and danced. It was fun to see. Suddenly, Starsky grabbed Hutch’s hands and pulled him up to dance with him. He didn’t want to at first, but after a while, he found himself singing and dancing around with his lover to the catchy tune. He was actually enjoying himself.

When the movie ended, Starsky got up and turned off the TV, then turned to Hutch.

“That was a lot of fun, but now we have to start decoratin’ the tree. Come on!” Starsky picked up an ornament, then suddenly stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Hutch asked.

“Nothin’. I just think we should turn the lights on first. I’ll see if both plugs reach the wall.”

Starsky crawled under the tree and grabbed both plugs, then pushed one in the wall outlet. He pushed the other one in, then crawled from under the tree.

“They reached...how does it look?” Starsky stood up, seeing the lit tree for the first time and he was amazed. On one side all the lights were white and on the other they were multicolored. It looked odd, but beautiful. He stepped back to stand next to Hutch, who’s mouth was gapping open.

“Looks great, huh?” Starsky grinned, looking at Hutch.

“Ah...yeah, I had no idea. It doesn’t look weird, it just looks beautiful.

“I knew it would. Now just imagine how much better it’ll look with all the ornaments.” Starsky picked up two of the gold ornaments and placed them on his side.

Hutch was still admiring the tree. “It looks like it doesn’t even need the ornaments.”

“Maybe, but we have ta put ‘em on anyway.”

Hutch started placing his ornaments on the branches, one by one and sometimes two by two. Soon they were almost done. They both needed to use the step stool to reach the top. Once Starsky put his last one on, he stepped back to look at it.

“Hutch, I think this is the most beautiful tree I’ve ever seen.”

Hutch moved back to look. “Wow, it really is! The only thing missin’ is a tree topper.”

Starsky frowned. “Terrific, we didn’t get a tree topper,” he said, sarcastically.

“No, we didn’t.” Hutch thought about it for a minute. “Wait...I think I have somethin’ we can use.”

Starsky watched as Hutch ran to the hall closet. He took out a box and placed it on the coffee table. He opened it, and began to rummage through it, searching for something.

“Whatcha’ lookin’ for?” Starsky walked closer to peer inside the box.

“It has to be in here.” Hutch continued to pull out various items from the box, letting them fall on the table and the floor. Suddenly, he stopped. “Found it.”

“Found what?”

“This.” Hutch held up a beautiful angel, dressed all in white with gold wings and a gold halo on top of long blonde hair.

“That’s beautiful Hutch! Where did it come from?”

“My mother-- when she didn’t want to celebrate for Christmas anymore, she placed all the decorations in a big box to throw out. When she wasn’t looking, I looked inside the box and saw this angel. We had it on top of every tree we had. For some reason, I didn’t want it thrown away, so I took it out and hid it. Somehow, I managed to keep it all these years.

“It’s perfect for the top of our tree.” Starsky put the step stool in front of Hutch. “Go ahead-- put it on top.”

Hutch smiled at his lover with tears in his eyes, then stepped up on the stool. He placed the angel on top of the tree, then looked down at Starsky.

“How does it look? Is it straight?”

Starsky stepped back to get a good look. “A little to the left.”

Hutch moved it over. “How’s that?”

“Perfect! Come take a look.”

Hutch stepped down and stood beside Starsky. They wrapped their arms around each other, squeezing tightly.

“Wow, Starsk, it’s looks amazing!”

“Especially with your mom’s angel on top.” Starsky rubbed small circles on Hutch’s back.

Hutch looked at Starsky letting the tears fall. Starsky raised his hand, and gently wiped them with his thumb.

“Thank you,” Hutch said, with the sweetest smile.

“For what?”

“For all of this and for just being you.” Hutch leaned forward and tenderly touched his lips to Starsky’s.

“It’s my pleasure babe and there’s a lot more to come.” Starsky smiled, giving Hutch a more passionate kiss that took their breaths away.

S&H~S&H~S&H~S&H

The next morning Starsky was up bright and early. He needed to put extension cords outside to make the lawn decorations to light up. He began by pushing one end of the plug into the wall outlet, then walked the cord outside to the decorations. It didn’t reach, so he had to connect two extension cords, then they reached. He did the same for the sleigh, then turned on the switch on the snowman and it lit up. Then he turned on the switch for the sleigh, but it didn’t light. He ran back inside to check the connections. At that time, Hutch was coming downstairs from the bedroom.

“Starsk. I woke up and you weren’t there,” he said, walking over to his frantic lover, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Yeah. I gotta’ connect the extensions so the lawn decorations would light up.” He kept on working as he spoke to Hutch.

Hutch watched how frantic Starsky was.

“Starsk, why don’t you take a break for some breakfast?”

“Not now – I’ve gotta’ get this done.” Starsky ran back outside, after checking the connection of the cords.

Hutch frowned as he watched him run out the door. He slowly walked and stood in the doorway, watching him.

“Damn! It’s still not comin’ on!” Starsky ran back towards the house, pass his lover. Just before he ran out of reach Hutch grabbed his arm.

“Whoa! Take it easy Starsk. What’s the rush? Christmas isn’t for a few days yet.”

Starsky looked at him. “Hutch, that’s the point. Christmas is in a few days. It all has to be done by then.”

“It will babe, but it all doesn’t have to be done right now. Come on, let’s go inside and get some breakfast,” Hutch suggested calmly, then took his hand.

Starsky looked into his eyes and heard his calm tone. Immediately he felt calmer and allowed Hutch to take him inside. Hutch led him into the kitchen, sat Starsky at the table and gave him a tender kiss before walking over to the frig to get out what he needed to make breakfast. Starsky got up to get a mug of coffee and Hutch got in his way.

“Babe, don’t ya’ think you’re already a bit charged up? Do you need the caffeine?”

Starsky thought about it, then smiled. “You’re right. I’ll just get a glass of orange juice.”

Hutch smiled, letting him pass to go to the frig. He took out the bottle and poured a glass for himself and one for Hutch. After putting the bottle back in the frig, Starsky carried the glasses to the table, placing one at Hutch spot and the other at his. He sipped his juice while watching his lover do what he does best...at least one of the things he does best.

“I love watchin’ you in the kitchen.” Starsky’s eyes were hooded with desire.

“Ya’ do, huh?”

“Yeah, I do.” Starsky slowly got up from the table and came up behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist. He laid his chin on his shoulder, as he watched him scramble eggs in a bowl.

Hutch turned his head to give Starsky a kiss. When he needed to move to get something, Starsky’s held his waist tighter.

“Starsk, I need to get somethin’.”

“Whadaya’ need ta get, when everything you need is right here.” Starsky nuzzled his neck, while taking Hutch’s hand and putting it on his blossoming bulge. His hand took on a mind of its own, squeezing it, eliciting a moan from his lover.

“Starsk, I need to make breakfast.”

“Later.”

Starsky spun Hutch around to face him, then he placed a bruising kiss on his lips-- which Hutch responded to quickly. He put his hand back on Starsky’s bulge, making it even harder. Starsky couldn’t take the uncomfortable feeling of his erection trying to bust out of his tight jeans, so he quickly opened them and pulled out his cock. Hutch looked down, and immediately dropped to his knees, taking it into his mouth. Starsky shut his eyes tight, threw his head back and bit down on his bottom lip. He placed his hands on Hutch’s head, caressing the golden locks, while moving his head forward on his cock.

“God Hutch...you’re mouth feels so fuckin’ good!” Starsky squeezed his eyes shut as he felt his orgasm approaching.

Hutch swallowed every drop, then stood up to watch his lover recover. Starsky slowly opened his eyes, to see Hutch looking at him with a warm smile, licking cum off his lips.

“Ya’ hungry now?”

Starsky stuffed himself back into his jeans and zipped them up.

“I’m starvin’.” He grinned.

“Then if you’re done interruptin’ me, I’ll try to finish makin’ our breakfast.”

“I can’t be responsible for my actions when I see you in the kitchen cookin’. It gets me all hot and bothered watchin’ you be all domestic.”

Hutch chuckled. “Then I think you’d better go into the living room, and I’ll call ya’ when it’s ready.”

Starsky sighed. “Okay. I think I’ll go to see why the sleigh didn’t like up.” He gave Hutch a quick slap on the ass, then jogged out of the kitchen.

When he was outside, Starsky picked up the place where the extensions were attached. Immediately the lights came on. Apparently, the plug wasn’t pushed in enough. Starsky was so happy. He ran back into the house and into the kitchen.

“Hutch, it lit up!”

Hutch looked back, grinning. “That’s great babe! Now you can sit down and eat breakfast without any anxiety.”

“Yeah. Lemme’ go turn ‘em off and I’ll be right back.”

While Starsky was gone, Hutch began plating their meal of scrambled eggs, bacon, and English muffins with boysenberry jelly. Starsky ran back into the kitchen, vigorously rubbing his hands together, as he put his leg over the seat of the seat of the chair and sat down.

“Boy am I hungry!”

Hutch brought over two full plates of food to the table, setting one in front of Starsky. Starsky dug right in, shoving a fork full of eggs into his mouth.

“So, are we done with the Christmas decorating?” Hutch asked, around a fork full of eggs.

“Nah, you’re never really done with decoratin’. There’s always other things you can add.”

Hutch rolled his eyes. “Starsk, I think everything looks perfect. There’s no need to add anything else.”

“You’re just sayin’ that because you don’t want to buy anything else.”

“You’re right about that,” Hutch admitted, with a smirk.

Starsky glared. “Well, we’ll see about that. How ‘bout havin’ a Christmas party? We can invite Huggy, Cap’ and his family, Pete, Kiko and their mom. Whadaya’ think?”

“I dunno’ Starsk. Organizing a party is a lot of work and money.”

“It doesn’t have to be. We can ask them to bring side dishes and we’ll provide the turkey and dessert. You can make your famous peach cobbler. I’ll organize everything.”

Hutch thought about it. It might be fun to have a small get together for Christmas. He had to admit to enjoying the one they had last year.

“Okay. I think that’s a great idea, just as long as you take care of everything.”

“Terrific!” Starsky jumped up, kissed Hutch, then proceeded to remove their breakfast dishes off the table and putting them in the sink. He turned on the faucet and began to wash and dry them. He told Hutch to go into the living room and relax. Hutch did as he was told, throwing himself on the couch and grabbed his latest novel.

Starsky wrote down everything that needed to be done for the party. Occasionally, asking Hutch for advice and he gave him as much advice as he could.

Hutch got up and climbed the stairs to their bedroom. Starsky looked up from his writing pad.

“Where ya’ goin’?”

“I’m gonna’ go up to change. I feel like a run. Ya’ wanna’ join me?”

Starsky really wanted to finish his list, but he couldn’t resist a run with his lover.

“Okay. I can finish when we get back.” Starsky ran up behind Hutch and they changed, then headed out for their run.

When they got back, they were winded and sweaty.

“I’m hittin’ the shower.” Hutch ran upstairs.

“Hey, wait for me,” Starsky yelled, running behind him.

After a nice hot shower, with a little fun included, they both came back downstairs. Starsky went right to the couch, grabbed his pad and pencil, and put his feet on the table. Hutch sat in the chair, looking over at him.

“So, how’s the list comin’?”

“It’s goin’ great!”

“Read it to me.”

“Okay. I already told you who we’re invitin’. I’m gonna’ let them decide what sides they want to bring. We’ll get the turkey and what you’ll need for the cobbler. We’ll also need paper plates, cups, napkins and plastic utensils.”

Hutch was shaking his head, frowning.

“What?” Whatcha’ shakin’ your head for?”

“Starsk, no paper and plastic. This is a Christmas party and it’ll be our first party in this house. I think we should use the dinnerware your mom gave us as a housewarming gift. It was a set for twelve, right?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about them. Yeah, that’ll be perfect. It’s even better cause we’ll be savin’ money by not havin’ to buy ‘em.”

“Right.”

“Okay. I’ll cross out the paper stuff. Let’s see what else we’ll need.” Starsky looked around the living room. “I hate to tell ya’ this Hutch, but we’re gonna’ need more decorations.”

Hutch looked around. He had to admit it, even with all the decorations Starsky got, the living room still wasn’t festive enough.

“You’re right Starsk.”

Starsky sat up blinking. “Really?!”

“Yeah. I think we could use a little more decorations.” He grinned.

“Hutch, that’s terrific! I’ll go get ‘em right now. Do you wanna’ come with me?”

“No, you got this, babe. I’ll stay here and hold down the fort.”

Starsky shrugged. “Okay. I’ll be back soon.”

Just before he left, Hutch called him back, “Starsky, please don’t break the bank buying them, okay?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Starsky winked, then happily walked out the door, humming Deck the Halls.

While Starsky was gone, Hutch decided to fix some lunch. He had no idea when he’d be back, so he decided to make something that would be okay eaten cold. He pulled out a plate of leftover chicken to make chicken salad. When it was done, Hutch returned to the couch to finish reading his novel.

Sometime later, Hutch feel asleep and didn’t hear when Starsky returned. Starsky opened the door and found him sleeping on the couch, so he tried not to make any noise. He had two bags full of stuff, one in each hand, as he closed the door with his foot. It closed a little too loudly, so he said “shhh” out loud, then placed the bags on the floor near the coffee table. He tipped toed to the kitchen to find something to eat. When Starsky opened the frig, he found the bowl of chicken salad. He took it out, along with a bottle of root beer and placed them on the table. Then he got a plate from the cabinet and put two slices of bread on it. After making his sandwich, Starsky sat at the table to eat it. When he was done, he put the rest of the salad back in the frig, then washed his plate and put it in the dish rack. He turned to find Hutch leaning against the kitchen entrance, with his arms folded.

“How was the salad?”

Starsky swung around, startled. “Oh, you’re awake.”

“Yeah. When did you get back?”

“About 30 minutes ago. I hope you don’t mind, I was hungry, so I ate some of the salad.”

“That’s what I made it for. So, what did ya’ get?” Hutch walked over to Starsky and kissed him.

Starsky savored the kiss, before answering. “A bunch of great stuff. Come on, they’re in the living room.” He grabbed Hutch’s hand and pulled him into the living room. He picked up both bags, placing them on the coffee table, then started pulling out each item.

“I got some garland to put around the windows and doors, a wreath for the front door, and a poinsettia to put on the dining room table. They look real but they’re not. I also got two Christmas stockings to put on the mantel for stocking stuffers. So, how’d I do?”

Hutch looked over everything, picking up the basket of fake poinsettias. “You did good Starsk, all but this.”

“What? You don’t like ‘em?”

“I think they’re beautiful. I’d just like ‘em to be real.”

“Real? I figured the real ones would be expensive, so I got a fake one. They look the same.”

“They do, but the real ones are so much better,” Hutch said, putting them down on the table.

“Okay. I’ll return ‘em and get some real ones.”

“Good. So, ya’ wanna’ put up the decorations when you get back?”

“Yeah. While I’m gone you should eat somethin’.”

“Oh, okay.” Hutch turned to go in the kitchen to make himself a sandwich. He sat at the table, eating with one hand, and holding his book in the other to read. When he was done, he washed his plate and put his and the one Starsky left in the dish rack, into the cabinet. As he was drying his hands, he heard the door slam. He threw the towel on the table and hurriedly went to greet his lover.

“So, ya’ ready to do some decoratin’?” Hutch asked, vigorously rubbing his hands together with excitement. He immediately noticed the solemn look on Starsky’s face.

“What happened?”

Starsky looked up at Hutch. “They didn’t have any more real poinsettias.”

“That’s okay Starsk. You said yourself that the fake ones look real. And you’re right, they’re just as beautiful. They’ll look great on the dining room table. Besides, I just remembered that I read somewhere that they can be poisonous, so we wouldn’t want them on the table with the food anyway.” He gave Starsky a reassuring grin.

“Really?! They’re poisonous?! Well, I guess it’s a good thing that I didn’t get ‘em, huh?”

“That’s right. So, are we gonna’ decorate or what?”

“We’re gonna’ decorate!” Starsky had renewed joy and energy. He started pulling the garland out of the bag. “Let’s start with these.” He gave Hutch a long strand.

“These are beautiful Starsk,” Hutch said, holding up the long garland.

“Yeah. I thought you’d like it. Why don’t you start putting ‘em on the mantel and I’ll put these on the banister.”

“Um…how am I supposed to attach it to the mantel?”

Starsky thought about it for a second. “Nails.”

“Nails?” Hutch frowned. “Wouldn’t that damage the wood?”

“Tiny nails—tacks really.”

Hutch went and got some tacks, then came back and began to attach the garland to the mantel. The garland consisted of pine foliage mixed with lifelike magnolia leaves accented with faux succulents, berries, and natural pine cones. He had never done this before, so he wasn’t sure if he was doing it right.

“Hey Starsk! How does this look?! Am I doin’ it right?!”

Starsky looked back. “Yeah, it looks terrific.”

Starsky went back to wrapping his garland around the banister, going from the bottom to the top. Once he got there, he looked down at Hutch.

“How does it look?”

Hutch looked up at the decorated banister. The garland was the same as the one he put on the mantel.

“It looks amazing Starsk-- really great!”

“Good.” Starsky descended the staircase. “I bought the same ones for the door frame and the windows. Do you think it’s too much?”

“No, I don’t think so. I like that they all match. It looks really nice Starsk.”

“I’ll put it up around the door and you put it around the windows, okay?”

“Yeah.” Hutch went and got a ladder, then he grabbed another strand of garland. He pushed the ladder near the window and climbed up. He stretched it across the top of the window, then tacked the corners, letting the rest hang down the sides. He climbed down to take a look at it. It looked great if he did say so himself.

Starsky had just finished putting his garland around the door frame. He looked back seeing Hutch admiring his work.

“Wow, Hutch, you’re really gettin’ good at this decoratin’.” Starsky walked over to him, patting him on the butt.

“Thanks. I’ll do the other window now.” Hutch put up the other garland in the same way, then climbed down, putting the ladder back in the closet.

Starsky stood in the middle of the living room and looked around, with a grin on his face. He reached out for Hutch to take his hand. They held hands, as they looked around at what they did.

“Now, this is a decorated house!” Starsky gave Hutch a kiss. “And we did it together!” Then Starsky thought for a moment. “Hey, we forgot the wreath!”

Starsky ran over to the bag with the wreath. It was decorated the same as the garland. He took it outside and hung it on their front door.

“Now, this house is decorated!” He grinned.

“We did a good job, if I can say so myself. I have to admit Starsk, when I saw all the stuff you bought, I didn’t think it would look this good.”

Starsky let out a loud yawn.

“It’s been a long day,” Hutch announced. “Let’s finish up tomorrow.”

“There’s not that much that still needs to be done. We just have to invite the guests, find out what they’re bringin’, get the turkey, the stuff for your dessert and some other odds and ends.” Starsky was proud of himself for having everything almost done before Christmas.

“Do you want me to make the calls to invite everyone?” Hutch offered.

They climbed the stairs holding each other around the waist.

“Sure, if ya’ want. In the morning, I’ll go to the grocery store and get the turkey and the other stuff.”

“Okay, then I’ll make the calls first thing in the mornin’. Hopefully they haven’t made other plans already,” Hutch said with concern.

S&H~S&H~S&H~S&H

The next morning, Starsky decided to get up early to make breakfast. When he was about to go downstairs, Hutch called him.

“Starsk, where ya’ goin’?”

“I’m gonna’ make breakfast.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. Is there somethin’ wrong with that?”

“No, nothing wrong. I’ll get up now and start makin’ the calls.” Hutch got out of the bed and Starsky turned back.

“Hutch, why don’t you wait until we’ve eaten breakfast. You don’t want to call too early.”

“Okay, then I’m gonna’ jump in the shower, then I’ll be down.”

“Okay.”

Starsky went downstairs to the kitchen and stood there thinking about what he’d make. He wasn’t the best cook, that’s why Hutch did all the cooking in the family. When he wasn’t being turned on by Hutch cooking in the kitchen, he watched him, trying to learn in case he had to do it one day. Breakfast wasn’t that hard, because he knew how to scramble eggs, fry bacon, and make toast, so that would be their breakfast-- even though Hutch made the same thing the day before.

Hutch came downstairs to find Starsky hard at work making breakfast. He went over to get a mug of coffee.

“Ya’ never said goodmornin’.” He kissed Starsky on the cheek.

Starsky smiled. “Mornin’, I hope you’re hungry.”

Hutch looked over what his lover was making. “It all looks delicious, babe.” He gave him another kiss, then went to sit at the table, drinking his coffee.

Starsky filled up two plates with food, then placed them on the table. He stepped over the seat, and dug in.

“I’ll go to the grocery store right after breakfast,” Starsky said, around a mouth full of toast.

“And I’ll invite our guests.”

Starsky got up from the table and put the pan, his mug and plate in the sink, without washing them. They had an agreement that when one cooked, the other would wash the dishes. He gave Hutch a quick peck on on the cheek, then disappeared out the door. Hutch went to the sink and got started on the dishes.

When he was done, Hutch went into the living room to make the calls. He put the phone on the coffee table and reached for the address book. One by one he called everyone, then decided to straighten up the living room-- putting things away from the decorating last night. He also put the box that held the tree topper, back in the closet. As he was closing the closet door, Starsky came back.

“Hey, can ya’ gimme’ a little help?” he asked, struggling to carry everything inside.

“Oh yeah.” Hutch ran over to take some of the groceries from Starsky. They carried everything to the kitchen, took them out of the bags and put them away needing to make space in the frig for the turkey.

“So, how did the calls go?” Starsky asked.

“Good. Huggy’s comin’ and he’s bringin’ a date.”

“Of course he is.” Starsky grinned. “What’s he bringin’?

“Macaroni and cheese and collard greens-- his grandmother’s recipes.”

“Great! Who else?”

“Kiko, Pete and their mom. She asked if it would be okay if she brought over some Tamales. She makes them every Christmas. I told her it was okay.”

“Yeah- her tamales are great! What about Cap’?”

“He said they’ve already been invited to Edith’s sister’s house for Christmas.” Starsky said sadly.

“Oh.” Hutch was a little disappointed too. He would have liked to see them, especially little Rosie. “Well, at least the rest are comin’. I was afraid it was too short notice.”

“Yeah, glad it wasn’t too late for them. So, Christmas is in two days. I think I’ll start makin’ the cobbler, then keep in the frig.”

“That’s a good idea Hutch. I bought this to make Christmas cookies.” Starsky held up a roll of cookie dough, reading the label: Pillsbury Holiday Cookie Decorating Kit.

“I’ve never heard of that.”

“It’s new. It comes with stencils, colored sprinkles, and candy. I figure it’ll be a lot easier than makin’ it from scratch like ma did.”

“It’s too bad your mom couldn’t come.” Hutch smiled, sadly.

“Yeah, she wasn’t feelin’ up to travelin’, especially with all the holiday crowd. I’ll go see her in the New Year.”

“I’ll come with ya’. It’s been a while since I’ve seen your mom.”

“She’d like that.” Starsky smiled.

Starsky started slicing the cookie dough on one side of the kitchen, while Hutch was on the other making the cobbler. Since the cobbler took longer to cook, Hutch placed it in the oven first, and Starsky put the pan of cookies in the frig to put in later. They both went in the living room and threw themselves on the couch.

“The grocery store was a mad house. I was lucky to get a turkey,” Starsky admitted.

“Well, it is really close to Christmas.”
“So, when will the cobbler be done?” Starsky asked, putting his hand under Hutch’s shirt, rubbing his nipples.

“About forty minutes.”

“Any idea on what we could do in the meantime?” Starsky continued to rub and tweak his nipples, causing Hutch to moan.

“I think you already have somethin’ in mind.”

Hutch sat up and quickly removed his shirt, then removed Starsky’s. They both undid their jeans, taking them off along with their underwear. Lying naked on the couch, they started kissing each other, then the kissing turned into fondling. Starsky turned himself around, allowing his genitals to hover over Hutch’s face and Starsky’s face was hovering over Hutch’s genitals-- in a perfect sixty-nine. They began to vigorously deep throat each other. Soon, they both came-- swallowing every drop of each other’s cum. Afterwards, they both sat up, wiping their mouths.

“That was terrific! How much time we got left?”

“For what?” Hutch asked, still in an afterglow mind fog.

“For the cobbler, dummy?”

“Oh.” Hutch glanced at the clock. “Five minutes...we almost didn’t make it.”

They quickly dressed, then went into the kitchen to wait. Hutch decided to take a peek at the cobbler.

“I think I should take it out. When I heat it back up on Christmas Day, I don’t want it over cook.” Hutch removed it from the oven and placed it on the counter. “You can put your cookies in now.”

Starsky took the pan of cookie dough out of the frig and placed it in the oven, turning down the temperature a little.

“That cobbler smells really good! I know they’re gonna’ love it.”

“I hope so. It’s been a while since I’ve made it.”

“Well, if the smell is any indication, it’s gonna’ taste great.”

Hutch gave him one of his wonderful smiles. “Thanks.”

After about 35 minutes, Starsky’s cookies were done. He put them to the side to cool, so they can be decorated. In the meantime, he put all the things on the counter they’d need to decorate them. Hutch leaned on the counter looking at everything.

“Starsk, couldn’t you have gotten cookies that were already decorated?”

“Yeah, but that wouldn’t be as much fun. Whatsta’ matta’? I thought with the way you like to cook and bake-- you’d like to do this?”

“It’s just that, I’ve never been very good at arts and crafts,” Hutch admitted.

“Whadaya’ talkin’ about? It’s not hard. They give you stencils of Christmas shapes to put on the cookie, then you shake on the sprinkles. When you move it, the shape will be on the cookie. They give you candy to stick on ‘em-- it’s a piece of cake. Besides, you can’t really mess this up. The main thing about Christmas cookies is the taste and I’m sure these taste terrific,” Starsky said, confidently.

Hutch sighed. “If you think so, I’ll give it a try.”

Once the cookies cooled enough, they began to decorate them. Starsky gave Hutch six and he took six. He started first to show Hutch how it’s done.

“See, put the stencil on, hold it still then shake on the sprinkles like this, then pull the stencil up and there’s the shape. Now I’m gonna’ add a few pieces of candy and voila, one done.” Starsky grinned, holding the cookie up in his palm.

Hutch raised his eyebrows. “Seems simple enough.”

They both proceeded to decorate all the cookies, with Starsky cheerfully singing, Deck the Halls, as they worked.

Once all the cookies were decorated, Starsky put the cookies on a plate, then covered it with plastic wrap and left them on the counter. When Hutch was throwing something in the garbage can, Starsky lifted the plastic and snatched a cookie. After shoving it whole into his mouth, he quickly covered the cookies back up, then turned his back so Hutch couldn’t see him chewing.

Hutch turned around and noticed Starsky’s back was turned like he was hiding something. “Starsk, whadaya’ doin’?

“What?” Starsky mumbled, with his mouth still full of cookie.

“Why are you mumbling with your back turned?”

“No reason,” he continued to mumble.

Hutch glanced at the plate of cookies. “Starsk, did you eat one of the cookies?”

“No.”

“Starsky.”

Starsky slowly turned around. “Okay, ya’ got me. I ate one...just one!”

Hutch shook his head. “You know they’re for our guests.”

“I know, but I was just makin’ sure they tasted good.” Starsky grinned.

“Do they?”

“Yeah. They’re delicious!”

“Well, can ya’ do me a favor?”

“What?”

“Leave a few for our guests, okay? Hutch smiled.

“Okay...I’ll try.” He smiled, then winked.

Hutch narrowed his eyes at him, then started cleaning up the kitchen. Starsky helped him, then they went into the living room.

“We’re doin’ pretty good on time. Everything seems to be done,” Hutch said, looking around the room.

Yeah. That’s why I was anxious to get it all done. Now Christmas Day won’t be so crazy.” Starsky put his hands behind his head, with his feet on the table.

Hutch laid his head back on the back of the couch, then looked over at his lover.

“Ya’ know, I’m really enjoying doing this with you.” He reached out, grasping Starsky’s hand.

“I’ve always loved Christmas and I’m happy that you’re enjoying too.” Starsky leaned over to give Hutch a sweet, lingering kiss. Afterwards, he put his head on Hutch’s shoulder. They laid there for a while, relishing the silence and each other’s company.

S&H~S&H~S&H~S&H

The next day was Christmas Eve. They both got up bright and early and went for a jog. Afterwards, Hutch made breakfast.

“Ya’ know, I’m really glad Dobey gave us Christmas week off,” Starsky said, biting a piece of his sausage.

“Yeah, but he did say we’d be called in if there were an emergency.”

“Well, let’s keep our fingers crossed that everybody wants to be on Santa’s nice list, not the naughty one. So, whadaya’ we gonna’ do today-- Christmas Eve?”

“I dunno’. What did you used to do on Christmas Eve?” Hutch inquired.

Starsky thought about it, tiling his head towards the ceiling.

“I remember ma letting us open one gift, then we drank hot chocolate and watched the Alistair Sims, A Christmas Carol. Have you seen it?”

“Yeah, a long time ago. That sounds like a nice way to spend Christmas Eve Starsk. Would you like us to do that?”

“Yeah, I would.” Suddenly Starsky had a panicked look on his face.

“What’s the matta’?”

“Um…nothin’ I just remembered I need to do somethin’.” Starsky got up from the table and ran to the closet to get his jacket. “I’ll be right back!”

Hutch watched as Starsky dashed out the door. He chuckled to himself, then got up to wash the dishes. When he was done, he got his jacket, and left the house too.

It was apparent that neither one of them had thought to buy each other Christmas Eve gifts. Since it was Christmas Eve it was slim pickings to find gifts. Sometime about an hour from the time he left, Starsky arrived back at the house. He didn’t see Hutch’s car in the driveway, so he knew he’d gone out, so he went inside and placed his gift on the table, along with the wrapping paper he bought. He needed to wrap the gift before Hutch got back, so he started doing it immediately.

Starsky was never very good at wrapping gifts, especially when they were an odd shape like this one was. He unrolled a long piece, cut it with scissors, then laid it out on the floor. He placed the gift in the center, pulled the sides around it, then taped it up. Just as he was trying to wrap ribbon around it, Hutch opened the door. Starsky swung around falling over on the floor, trying to hide the gift with his body.

“H-hutch, you’re home!”

Hutch came in hiding something behind his back. He closed the door without turning around. “

Yeah. I see you’re back too.” He started side stepping towards the den.

“We’re both back.” Starsky chuckled, nervously trying to prevent Hutch from seeing his gift.

“Well, I’m gonna’ go in here for a minute. I’ll be back.” Hutch dashed inside the den, shutting the door.

Starsky let out a sigh, then went back to trying to wrap his present. Once he was done, he took the gift and put it in the closet, up high on the shelf. He laid back on the couch, as Hutch stuck his head out of the door. He immediately noticed Starsky on the couch, grinning at him.

“Oh…hey.”

“Hey ya’ self. Whatcha’ got there?” Starsky asked, sitting up.

“What?”

“Behind your back.”

“Oh…this? It’s nothin’.”

“It’s nothin’? Really?”

Hutch lowered his head, shaking it in defeat. “Ya’ got me. This is your Christmas Eve present. I didn’t have a gift for you, so I went out and got one.”

Starsky started laughing, then got up and walked to the closet. He took his present out, showing it to Hutch.

“I did the same thing.”

Hutch chuckled too. “Should we open ‘em now? It is Christmas Eve.”

Starsky glanced at his watch. “It’s only six o’clock. Let’s wait until it’s at least seven. In the meantime, we can put ‘em under the tree. Starsky crawled over to the tree and put his gift underneath. While he was under there, he turned on the tree. Hutch put his under the tree, then they both sat on the floor, holding each other, looking up at their tree. Then Starsky thought of something.

“Hey, we should light the fireplace! I’ve always seen fireplaces in Christmas movies and thought they looked really Christmassy.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll go outback and get some wood.” Hutch got up and went out the back door.

While he was gone, Starsky checked out the fireplace. He’d never had a fireplace, so he wasn’t sure how to do it. When they were at Dobey’s cabin, Hutch did show him how to open the air vent, so he crawled inside the fireplace and opened it. He knew Hutch knew all about fireplaces, so he was happy they bought a house that had one.

Hutch came back in carrying an arm full of wood and put them down near the fireplace. He started placing logs on the bottom, then added a layer of small logs.

“I already opened the air vent, like you showed me,” Starsky said, proudly.

“Good. Can you hand me some of that kindling over there?” Hutch pointed to a wooden box they kept it in near the fireplace.

Starsky crawled over, took out a few, then bought them back to Hutch. “Is this enough?”

Hutch took it from him. “It should be.” Then he placed them on the smaller logs, with a couple of firefighters on top of the kindling wood. After that, Hutch grabbed a lighter from the top of the mantel.

“Can I light it?” Starsky asked, sweetly.

Hutch smiled. “Of course.” He gave Starsky the lighter and he placed it on the kindling wood. It ignited immediately with a whoosh.

“Hey, look at it!” he exclaimed, sitting cross legged in front of it. “I could sit here watchin’ it for hours!”

Hutch loved how excited Starsky got about things. “Well, I don’t know about hours—it’s just about seven, don’t we have some gifts to open?”

“Oh yeah!” Starsky eagerly crawled over to the tree and pulled his gift from underneath, then he handed it to his lover. “Merry Christmas Hutch!” He grinned.

“Thanks, Starsk.” Hutch retrieved his, handing it to Starsky. “And this is for you, Merry Christmas.”

“Thanks Hutch. Should we open ‘em one at a time?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, I’ll go first.” Starsky ripped off the wrapping paper.

“Oh wow! A train engineer’s cap!” The cap had blue and white pinstripes on it. Starsky immediately put it on his head. “How does it look?”

“It looks great Starsk. I’m glad you like it.” He smiled. “I have another one for ya’.” Hutch reached under the tree and handed Starsky the gift.

“Wow, two gifts! I only got you one,” he said, wistfully.

“Well, I had to. It goes with your cap.”

Starsky blinked, then tore open the package. His eyes widened when he saw what it was.

“The caboose I wanted last year!”

Hutch gave him a brilliant smile.

“You’re the best!” he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around his lover, almost knocking him backwards. “Now open yours.”

Hutch tore the wrapping off his. “Starsk, I love it!”

Starsky gave him a cream-colored Austin Cowboy Freedom Hat.

Hutch placed it on his head, then looked at Starsky. “How do I look?”

“Like you should be out ropin’ cattle.”

Hutch pulled off this hat, waved it the air, yelling, “Yee Haw!”

Then Starsky shouted, “Choo, choo!” Gesturing pulling a train whistle.

They both laughed, then Hutch crawled over to Starsky. “I love my hat babe,” he said, kissing him tenderly.

Starsky paused the kiss to say, “I love my hat and the caboose too.” He brought his lips back to Hutch’s to continue the kiss, as they held each other.

“By the way, where did you get the hat? I’d figure everything would be sold out on Christmas Eve?” Hutch moved his fingers leisurely up and down Starsky’s arm.

“I drove around until I saw this hat shop. I went inside and the first thing I saw was this hat. It was like it was there waitin’ for me to buy it, ya’ know? What about you?”

“I knew I wanted to get you somethin’ that had to do with trains, ‘cause I know how much you love them. So, I decided to go in that toy store you like that sells trains and that cap was sittin’ on a shelf. The owner said it was the last one.”

“Wow, it was like we were supposed to buy these hats for each other.”

“Yeah.”

“How about watchin’ “A Christmas Carol” now? I’m sure it’s on TV somewhere.” Starsky crawled over to the coffee table, grabbed the “TV Guide”, and thumbed through it.

Starsky kept his cap on, while Hutch took his off and placed it on a chair near the tree. Hutch decided to turn on the TV and just kept changing the channels, hoping to find it. Suddenly, he stopped at what looked like the movie.

“Is this it?”

Starsky glanced up at the TV screen. “Yeah!” Then he got up and sat on the couch, with Hutch beside him. “Damn! I forgot the hot chocolate!” He was about to jump up, when Hutch grabbed his arm.

“Wait ‘til the commercial.”

Starsky shrugged. “Okay.” He sat until a commercial came on, then jumped up to make the chocolate. He carefully carried it back into the living room, handed Hutch his mug, then settled down to watch the movie for the rest of the evening.

When it was over, Starsky got up, stretched, then yawned loudly. He told Hutch he was going up to bed. Hutch nodded and went about extinguishing the fire in the fireplace, then went upstairs to the bedroom. Starsky was already lying in bed. Hutch changed into a pair of pajama bottoms, climbed into bed, and cuddled with his half-asleep lover. Starsky turned so Hutch could spoon him, then Hutch wrapped an arm around him, and they fell asleep.

S&H~S&H~S&H~S&H

Christmas Day was finally here. Hutch had told their guests to arrive at 6 PM, so he and Starsky made sure they got up early to prepare. Hutch got up extra early to prepare the turkey and put it in the oven.

Starsky ran upstairs to the guest bedroom and to the closet. He took out the gifts they bought for Kiko and Pete, then went back down to the living room, placing them under the tree. They also bought a few stocking stuffers that he put into both stockings.

They spent most of the day making sure everything looked perfect. Starsky tested the outdoor lawn decorations to make sure they lit up and Hutch straightened up the indoor decorations and the living room. A little while after Starsky came back in, there was a knock at the door. They both blinked at each other.

“Who could this be? It’s way too early for anyone to come yet.” Starsky said, frowning.

He went to the door, opened it, and saw Rosie standing there, with Dobey, Edith and Cal behind her.

“Rosie! Whadaya’ doin’ here?! I thought you weren’t comin’?” He grinned.

Edith stepped forward. “We’re sorry to bother you but Rosie just had to give this to you. Go ahead give it to him,” she instructed her daughter.

“This is for you and Uncle Ken.” Rosie handed him a beautifully wrapped gift. Hutch came up behind Starsky.

“Rosie, whadaya’ doin’…”

Starsky cut him off. “We already did that…she came to give us a gift.”

“Why don’t you all come in? Hutch asked, moving back for them to pass.

“No, we’re on our way to Edith’s sister’s house. We just stopped by for Rosie to give you this,” Dobey said.

They both crouched down to Rosie. “Thank you so much for the gift, Rosie,” Starsky said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah, this is really nice of you,” Hutch said, giving her a kiss also.

“You’re welcome,” Rosie said sweetly.

“Come on sweetheart, we need to get going if we’re going to beat the Christmas day traffic.” Edith was turning away from the door, with Rosie, then turned back.

“I also forgot. Cal, give them the gifts we brought.”

Cal moved closer and handed a shopping bag to Starsky. “We got these for you guys.”

Edith looked mortified. “You guys! Is that the way you address adults?”

“Um…sorry. We bought these for you-- Uncle Ken and Uncle Dave.”

“That’s better,” she said, turning away again, pulling Cal by the arm, and taking Rosie’s hand.

“Ah wait! We have somethin’ for you too!” Starsky ran to get the shopping bag of gifts from under the tree. “Here ya’ go.” He handed the bag to Dobey.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Dobey said, embarrassed to take it.

“Yes, we did. Have a Merry Christmas Cap’, Edith, Cal and especially you, Rosie!” Starsky gave her a wink.

They all shouted in return, “Merry Christmas!”

“And Happy New Year!” Rosie shouted, turning to wave, as they walked to their car and drove away.

“That was nice. Rosie is so adorable,” Starsky said, putting the gifts under the tree.

“Yeah, she really is.” Hutch grinned, turning to go in the kitchen. Starsky followed him, then leaned down on the counter to watch as Hutch basted the turkey. Hutch closed the oven door, then realized Starsky was there.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were there.”

“How’s the turkey? It smells terrific!”

“It’s almost ready. I’m gonna’ let it cook for fifteen more minutes, then I’ll take it out to let it rest.”

Starsky glanced at his watch. “It’s already five o’clock-- maybe we should get dressed-- just in case someone shows up early.”

“Okay, let’s go up.” Hutch grasped Starsky’s hand, as they climbed the stairs. When they got to the top, they looked down at the living room. Everything looked beautiful.

Hutch had no trouble picking out a holiday outfit. He chose a pair of burgundy corduroy trousers, a white and burgundy plaid collared shirt under a cream Irish knit sweater.

Starsky on the other hand had a bit more trouble picking out what to wear. He was never the clothes horse that Hutch was. He liked to be comfortable at all times and this occasion wasn’t any different. Hutch went with him to buy something. After turning down five outfits, Starsky finally agreed on one. A pair of black jeans, a red collared shirt, under a cream sweater with red and green reindeer designs across the top and bottom. Hutch was against his sweater choice, but Starsky had always liked colorful sweaters and since this was Christmas, he wanted to choose a Christmassy one. He originally wanted one that had a stitched big, green Christmas tree on the front with tiny, multi-colored pom-pom decorations on it, but Hutch was able to talk him out of it...thank goodness.

Just before they got dress, Hutch noticed that Starsky was still wearing his engineer’s hat.

“Um, Starsk, don'tcha’ think you should take off the cap?”

Starsky raised his eyes towards the brim. “Oh. It doesn’t really go with my outfit, does it?”

Hutch shook his head, smiling sweetly.

“Okay.” Starsky took the cap off and threw it on the bed.

Once they were dressed with their dress shoes on, they went downstairs. Hutch went into the kitchen to take out the turkey and place it on the counter. Starsky took down his mother’s dinnerware from the cabinet and placed them on the dining room table. Together, they set the table and Hutch placed the poinsettias in the center of the table, as the center piece.

“Hey Hutch, aren’t ya’ gonna’ light the fireplace again?”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot about it.” Hutch prepared the logs, then lit the fireplace again. Soon, a nice flame ignited, giving the room a warm, festive glow. When he turned around, he found Starsky pacing back and forth, cracking his knuckles.

“Babe, take it easy.” Hutch got up and held his hands. “The house looks amazing, and the turkey is done. There’s nothin’ to be nervous about.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Starsky let out a calming breath. He glanced at his watch then went to peer out the window. “It’s two minutes after six, where is everybody?”

“Starsk, they’ll be here. People don’t want to be the first to arrive.”

Just as Hutch finished his sentence, someone knocked on the door. Starsky excitedly ran to the door.

“Starsk, calmly. You open the door like that and you’re gonna’ scare away our guests.”

Starsky smiled at him, then slowly opened the door to find Kiko, Pete and Mrs. Ramos standing there.

“Mrs. Ramos, Kiko, Pete! Merry Christmas! Come on in!” Starsky exclaimed, opening the door wide for them to enter.

“Feliz Navidad!” They yelled, as they walked inside. Hutch went over and gave Kiko a hug, while Starsky hugged Mrs. Ramos and Pete.

“Here are the tamales.” Kiko handed them to Hutch, who took them to the kitchen. Pete stepped forward, handing Starsky a beautiful Christmas cacti.

“Thanks! They’re beautiful!” He put the cactus on the coffee table, then turned back to her. “Pete, you’re wearin’ a dress! Lookin’ good kid! Starsky grinned, nodding enthusiastically.

Pete looked down at herself. She was wearing a green, red, and white plaid pinafore, with a white blouse and pleats on the bottom. “Thanks, but considerin’ what I’m wearin’, I think you should probably call me Molly.”

“Okay, then Molly it is.” Starsky went over to hug Kiko, while Hutch came over to give Mrs. Ramos and Molly a hug.

Hutch took the gifts they brought and put them under the tree.

“Okay, if all the huggin’ is done, how ‘bout everyone havin’ a seat?” Starsky smiled, gesturing for them to sit on the couch. Once they did, Hutch came over and asked them if he could get them something to drink.”

“Whatcha’ got?” Molly asked.

“We have soda, juice, water and milk,” Hutch listed.

“What kind of soda?” Kiko asked.

“Coca-Cola.”

“I’d like a Coca-Cola please,” Kiko answered, politely.

“Make that two,” Molly answered, with a glare from her mother. “Um…please.” Molly quickly corrected herself to appease her mother.

“Okay, two cokes. How about you Mrs. Ramos?”

“Ken, I’ve told you before, please call me Irma.”

“Sorry, Irma. What can I get you?” Hutch smiled, a bit embarrassed.

“Just water, thank you.” She smiled.

“I’ll be right back.”

While Hutch was getting their drinks, Starsky sat in the nearby chair.

“Oh my, all the decorations are muy bonita,” Irma said, looking around the house.

“Thank you,” Starsky relied.

Kiko and Molly got up to take a closer look at their unusual tree.

“This tree is really somethin’!” Kiko exclaimed.

Molly walked around looking at both sides. “Yeah. I’ve never seen anything like it. Why did ya’ decorate it like this?”

“Well, Hutch and I each wanted to decorate the tree our own way, so we decided to compromise-- one half is the way I wanted it and the other half is the way Hutch wanted it.”

Kiko and Molly shrugged.

“I think that’s a good idea to compromise.” Irma glanced at her children. “I hope you’re listening to this. They fight too much because one wants things her way and the other wants things his way.”

Molly and Kiko came back to sit on the couch, looking somewhat guilty.

“Well, I’m sure the next time they’ll be able to compromise, right?” Starsky asked, them with a wink.

They both nodded.

“Answer with words,” Irma told them.

“Yes, we will,” they said in unison.

Starsky smiled. “So, it’s been a year since the adoption. How’s everything goin’?”

“Good.” Kiko answered.

“Yeah, good,” Molly said, taking the cue from her brother.

“Good,” Starsky said, mimicking them, then smiling at Irma.

“Things are going well. Molly is becoming a little lady and Kiko is learning how to treat his sister like a lady.”

“That’s only when she lets me. Most of the time, she wants me to treat her like one of the guys.” Kiko smiled.

“That’s right,” Molly remarked, proudly.

Starsky and Irma exchanged looks then laughed.

Just then Hutch came back with their drinks. He was precariously carrying two in one hand and one in the other.

“Hutch, why didn’t you ask me to help you?!” Starsky shouted, moving quickly to help his lover.

They handed out the drinks, then Hutch turned to go back to the kitchen to attend to things in there.

“Do you need any help?” Irma asked. “Preparing the tamales for serving might be a little tricky.”

“Yes. I can use a little help, that’s if you don’t mind?”

“Oh no. I want to be of help.” She followed Hutch to the kitchen, then turned to her children. “You two be on your best behavior while I’m gone, si?”

“Si,” they said in unison, as they watched their mother disappear into the kitchen.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it! Excuse me.” Starsky left the kids, then walked to the door, opening it to find Huggy and his date.

“Hug!”

“Merry Christmas! We’re sorry for our tardiness, but her sweet potato pie wasn’t quite done, so it had to be put back in the oven.” Huggy was wearing a festive holiday outfit-- a dark green three piece suit, with a red collared shirt, and a white ascot with tiny Christmas tree designs on it.

“That’s okay. Merry Christmas! Come on in.” Starsky stepped back for them to enter. “So, who is this lovely lady?” he asked, kissing the back of her hand. The woman with Huggy was a pretty, caramel complected lady, with long brown hair and green eyes.

“This is Loretta, my date for the evening, so you can just turn off the charm.” Huggy was giving Starsky the side eye.

Loretta was blushing, as Starsky continued to flirt with her. “Hug, you know I can’t resist a beautiful woman.”

“Well, how about I tell your beautiful blonde partner about your behavior?”

Starsky blinked at him. “No need for that. I was just being a gracious host.” He smiled, giving Loretta a wink.

“Yeah right.” Huggy started to walk away with his date, then turned back. “Oh, I almost forgot.” Huggy pulled a bag from under his arm and handed it to Starsky. Starsky took the bottle out of the bag and read the label...Chateau Latour.”

Starsky mispronounced it, so Huggy corrected him and said, “1971”.

“Is that good?” Starsky asked.

“That’s great!” Hutch exclaimed, walking into the living room. “Hi Hug! Merry Christmas!” He grinned, giving him a hug, then turning to his date. “Whom might have we here?” Hutch turned on the charm, taking her hand, then bringing it to his lips.

Huggy glared at him. “This is my date, Loretta. Man, you two are somethin’ else.”

“What?” They asked in unison, exchanging innocent looks.

Huggy gave Loretta the bag of food. “Darlin’, can you take the food into the kitchen, please—while I have a chat with these two gentlemen?”

Hutch pointed towards the kitchen and Loretta nodded, then walked away. Huggy pulled them closer to the door, so the kids wouldn’t hear.

“You told me almost a year ago that you two were a couple now, yet you’re still flirtin’ with anything in a skirt. What gives?”

They exchanged looks again. “Nothin’ gives, Hug. Just because we’re in a relationship doesn’t mean we can’t still find women attractive,” Starsky informed.

“That’s right,” Hutch agreed. “We still have a healthy appreciation for the female form. We just prefer to have an intimate relationship with each other as a physical manifestation of the love we have for one another”.

“What he said.” Starsky grinned, giving Hutch a kiss, to emphasize the point.

Huggy covered his ears. “That is way too much information! All I wanted to know is whether or not I’ll have to protect my girl from you two.”

“Aw, Hug. Even if we weren’t in a relationship, we’d never steal your woman. As long as you’ve known us, have we ever done anything like that?” Hutch asked the question, but they both were looking intensely at Huggy.

Hugged narrowed his eyes at them. “No, you haven’t, but there’s always a first time.”

Hutch blew out a breath in frustration and Starsky frowned, not believing what Huggy was saying.

Huggy noticed how upset they were getting, so he decided to let them know he was joking.

“Hey guys, I’m just playin’ witcha’. I know you two would never do anything like that.” He laughed.

They looked at each other, with a sigh of relief. “Good. Can we get back to our guests now?” Hutch asked.

“Hey, I’m a guest too.” Huggy reminded.

“If ya’ say so.” Starsky walked away with Hutch behind him, leaving Huggy alone.

“No respect…no respect at all,” Huggy said to himself, then went over to join Kiko and Molly. They were playing with the talking Santa and trying to guess what the gifts were under the tree. Starsky had put on some Christmas music to make the atmosphere even more festive. Since Irma was helping Hutch in the kitchen, he decided to stay in the living room to talk to Huggy, Molly and Kiko.

Huggy noticed the tree for the first time. “That is one weird lookin’ tree.”

“They compromised,” Kiko said.

“That’s why it looks like that,” Molly told him, giggling.

Huggy looked at Starsky. “Was there alcohol involved?”

“No Hug. We just couldn’t decide on one way to decorate the tree, so we each took a side to decorate the way we wanted.”

“Well, it’s still one weird lookin’ tree.”

Starsky made a face at him, then turned his attention to the kids.

Hutch went back into the kitchen to find Irma placing the tamales on a serving plate and chatting with Loretta.

“They look delicious Irma,” Hutch said, touching her shoulders as he walked behind her.

“I hope they taste that way. This tamales recipe has been passed down from generation to generation.”

“Well, ya’ know what they say, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” Hutch grinned.

“I’ve never had a ta-ma-le before,” Loretta said, trying to pronounce the word.

“You’ll love ‘em. How should I heat up the macaroni and cheese and the greens?”

“They’re in foil pans, so you can put them both in the oven.”

Hutch placed them in the oven, adjusted the temperature, then turned to his kitchen guests.

“Once your dishes are heated, I think it’ll be time to eat.”

He led the ladies to the living room to make the announcement. Irma carried her tamales to place on the dining room table.

“Hello everyone! Dinner is just about ready. Could you all please go into the dining room now?”

Everyone got up to go into the dining room, with Starsky bringing up the rear. Once they got there, Hutch instructed them to sit wherever they wanted, but to leave the seats on the ends for he and Starsky. Huggy and his date sat together on one side of the table and Irma, Kiko and Molly sat on the other.

Huggy’s wine was placed on the table, along with Coca Cola for the kids.

“Oh, the table is beautiful and the dishes are so pretty!” Irma complimented. They were Gibson stoneware dishes, with a pretty strawberry pattern.

“Thanks, my mother gave them to us for a housewarming gift,” Starsky told her.

“Your mama has good taste!”

Starsky smiled at her, then Hutch came out carrying a pan of macaroni and cheese. “Starsk, can you bring in the greens?”

“Sure.” Starsky ran in the kitchen and brought out the greens and placed them on the table. Then he sat down, grabbed a napkin, and pushed it in his collar. “Boy, am I hungry!”

Hutch brought out the turkey and placed it on the table in front of him, so he could carve it. Everyone oohed and aahed when they saw it. Kiko and Molly were licking their lips. Huggy led everyone in applause, the kids cheered, with Starsky cheering and clapping the loudest. Hutch blushed, as he picked up the carving knife.

“Excuse me. Can we say grace before we eat?” Irma asked, shyly.

“Of course,” Hutch said, then Irma instructed them to hold hands as she said grace in Spanish with Kiko translating. When it was done, Starsky yelled, “Let’s eat!”

Hutch glared at him, then grabbed the bottle of wine. “I think we should have a toast.” Hutch went around filling all the glasses with the wine Huggy brought, while Starsky poured Coca-Cola in the kid’s glasses. Hutch stood up and raised his glass, along with everyone else.

“Here’s to having great friends to share life’s joys with.”

“Here here!” They yelled, clinking their glasses together and taking a sip.

“Now can we eat?” Starsky asked, with hopeful eyes.

“Yes, Starsk, we can eat now.”

“Terrific!” Starsky held up his knife and fork, ready to eat.

Hutch began to carve the beautifully cooked bird. They passed their plates to him, and he put slices on it. Once they had their turkey, everyone was told to plate their own sides. Irma made plates for her children and herself. Huggy was being a gentleman and plated Loretta’s food for her, then made one for himself. As one of the hosts, Starsky was the last one to plate his food. He also decided to be a gentleman and plated Hutch’s food before his own.

Once they had their food, everyone began to eat. The only sounds heard in the dining room were chewing and the clicking of utensils on plates. Everyone seemed to be enjoying their food too much to engage in conversation, but Starsky had to compliment Huggy’s food.

“”Hey Hug, the macaroni and cheese and the greens are really good!”

“Glad you like ‘em. They’re recipes that my mother, got from her sister, my aunt Ruthie.” Then he continued, “I don’t know about you folks, but I’m as full as a fox that was let loose in a chicken coup.”

Kiko and Molly giggled, and Irma frowned. Huggy noticed.

“Oh...sorry. I..um.. didn’t mean anything...ah,” Huggy stammered.

Irma smiled, “It’s okay Mr. Huggy.”

“Just Huggy,” he informed her.

“I hope everyone saved room for dessert. We have peach cobbler, Christmas cookies and sweet potato pie, with whipped cream,” Hutch announced.

“I always leave room for dessert,” Starsky said, rubbing his belly.

“Yeah, I think we all know that Starsk.” Hutch smiled, while everyone laughed. “Come, help me bring ‘em out.”

Starsky got up and went into the kitchen behind his lover. They brought out the desserts-- Starsky carried the pie and cookies, while Hutch brought out his cobbler and the whipped cream. After asking everyone what dessert they wanted, he placed it on their plates. Most wanted a little of each.

“This cobbler is delicioso!” Irma commented.

“Hutch made it. I made the cookies,” Starsky informed, proudly.

“The cookies are delicioso too.” Irma smiled.

Starsky smiled back at her. “Thank you.”

Hutch put a piece of the sweet potato pie in his mouth. “Mmm, this is good Loretta. I usually prefer pumpkin pie over sweet potato, but this is delicious!”

“I’m glad you like it,” she smiled.

Once everyone was done with dessert, Hutch announced:

“Why don’t we go back into the living room for the rest of the evening’s activities.”

As they all moved back into the living room, Starsky got close to Hutch. “Does that mean we’re gonna’ open our presents now?” he asked, eagerly.

“Yep.”

“Terrific! Do we have to clear the table now and wash the dishes?” Starsky asked, hoping the answer would be no.

“No, it’ll take too long, and we can’t keep our guests waiting. We’ll just put ‘em in the sink to wash later.”

Starsky helped him put the dishes in the sink, the leftovers in the frig, then he waited anxiously for Hutch, so they could go in the living room together. They held hands as they walked back in and stood in front of their guests. They exchanged glances, then Hutch spoke…

“Okay. Now this is the part of the evening that my partner here is most excited about. You wanna’ tell ‘em Starsk?”

“We’re gonna’ open our gifts!” he shouted.

“Yaaay!!!” Molly and Kiko jumped up and down, shouting and clapping. Starsky joined them in their enthusiasm.

They had placed all the gifts they brought under the tree. Hutch read the name tags and Starsky handed them out. Soon all the gifts were handed out to the delight of everyone, especially the kids.

“What about you and Hutch?” Kiko asked looking from one to the other. “There must be gifts under there for you too.”

Kiko crawled under the tree and saw two other gifts. He retrieved them and read the label on one: “From Starsky, To Hutch”. Kiko gave it to Hutch, then sat back to watch. It was quite obvious to all what the gift was from the way it looked, but Hutch made believe he didn’t know what it was.

“Aw Starsk.” He grinned.

“Merry Christmas, babe.” Starsky beamed in anticipation of his lover’s reaction.

“I wonder what it could be,” Hutch said, winking at Molly and Kiko. He tore the paper off to reveal a beautiful guitar. Hutch’s eyes widened. He knew it was a guitar, but he didn’t know how special it would be.

“It’s an Ovation guitar!” he exclaimed, glancing at his lover.

“Yeah, it’s just like the one Diana broke.”

“Starsk, this...is…” Hutch couldn’t find the words, his eyes filling with tears. “Thank you.” He leaned over to give him a quick kiss.

This display of affection wasn’t a shock to anyone. Their guests already knew about them being a couple, even Kiko and Molly. When Irma explained their relationship to them, they were happy for them. Kiko even said it was cool because they were already such good friends before. Huggy had told Loretta about his friends and their special relationship, so she wouldn’t be shocked or uncomfortable. She took it quite well. She even whispered to Huggy during the evening, that they made a cute couple.

“I’ll get that one!” Molly yelled, as she went under the tree to get the last one. “This has to be from Hutch to Starsky,” she said, checking the tag to make sure, then handing it to Starsky.

Starsky shook the box, then looked at his lover. “It’s not another certificate for a tree in my name, is it?”

Kiko and Molly laughed, remembering the gift Hutch gave him last year. Kiko told her about it after she came back from trying on the dress she was given.

Hutch made a face at him. “No Starsk, it’s not. Just open it please.”

Starsky ripped off the paper, opened the box to find a whole lot of tissue paper like the last time. He glared at his lover.

“Just opened it,” Hutch said again.

After digging through the paper, Starsky found an envelope. This time he narrowed his eyes at Hutch.

“I promise you’re gonna’ love it.” Hutch smiled, giving him a wink.

With a little trepidation, Starsky opened the envelope and found two tickets. He held one up to read:

“One ticket to the Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum in Griffith Park. Hey, I’ve always wanted to go there.”

“I know. Merry Christmas babe.”

Starsky crawled to him and gave him a lingering kiss, which made Kiko and Molly giggle.

“Hey you two, there are children present!” Huggy yelled.

They broke the kiss and looked back at their audience, embarrassed.

“Um...sorry. I guess we got a little carried away.” Hutch chuckled, blushing.

“Yeah, sorry.” Starsky shrugged.

Irma spoke up. “There is no shame in two people showing affection for one another.”

They both blinked at her. This was a little strange coming out of the mouth of a woman who was very religious and a Catholic-- at that.

“Thanks Irma,” they both said, shyly.

“Denada,” she said, then continued, “It’s getting late. I think we’re going to say, buenas noches.”

“Aw, do we have to?” Molly pouted.

“Yeah, do we?” Kiko was giving her huge, brown puppy dog eyes.

“Si, we do. Thank Dave and Ken for your gifts and a wonderful evening.”

“Thanks again for the Evil Knievel stunt car.” Kiko grinned.

“You’re welcome. Maybe I could come over sometime and we could race it together.” Hutch said.

“That’ll be great.” Kiko told him.

“And thanks for the Roberto Clemente rookie card!” Molly exclaimed.

“Hold on to it. I’m sure it’s gonna’ be worth somethin’ someday,” Starsky assured.

Molly and Kiko reluctantly said goodbye to their hosts and walked towards the door with their mother.

Starsky opened the door, and the children went through, but Irma stopped.

“I want to thank you both for a lovely evening, delicious food and the beautiful scarf.”

“It was our pleasure. Thanks for coming and bringing those delicious tamales. Are you sure you don’t want to take the leftovers?” Hutch asked.

“No, I brought them for you both.”

“Thanks. They won’t go to waste,” Starsky assured her.

He and Hutch hugged her, then she walked out to join her children.

They turned to their two remaining guests.

“Kids are gone-- now the real party can start!” Huggy grinned.

“Well, Hug it’s gettin’ kinda’ late,” Hutch said, feigning tiredness.

“Yeah,” Starsky added, stretching.

Huggy glanced at his watch. It was only nine o’clock.

“Whada’ ya’ll talkin’ ‘bout? It’s only...” Suddenly it dawned on Huggy, after seeing the looks on their faces. Apparently, they had other plans for the rest of the evening.

“Come on, Loretta. I think these two have other plans for the evenin’ that doesn’t include us.” Huggy said, getting up, and helping Loretta up also.

“I hope ya’ don’t mind Hug,” Hutch said, trying to apologize.

“Oh, I totally understand. You two want some privacy so you can give each other special Christmas gifts.” Huggy winked, emphasizing the word special.

“Huggy!” Starsky exclaimed, appalled.

“Hey, I call ‘em as I see ‘em. Am I right or am I wrong?”

They exchanged looks, then nodded, sheepishly.

“I knew it! Well with that we bid you a fond adieu. You can keep the left-over macaroni and cheese and the greens.” Huggy grasped Loretta’s hand and led her out the door.

“And thanks for the cool cuff links!” Huggy added.

“Keep the rest of the pie too. Thank you and Happy New Year!” Loretta yelled, as they walked towards their car.

“Happy New Year!” They yelled, shutting the door, falling against it, and blowing out their breaths.

“That was a great party. I think Kiko and Molly really liked their gifts,” Starsky noticed.

“Irma and Huggy seemed to like theirs too. I hope Huggy doesn’t mind us kicking him and his date out like that,” Hutch said, feeling a bit guilty.

“Nah, you heard ‘em, he knew why we were doin’ it.” Starsky moved closer to his lover, wrapping his arms around his waist and kissing him.

“But Starsk, it’s still really rude.”

“Okay, if you feel that bad about it, we can make it up to him later. Now let’s start giving each other our very special Merry Christmas presents the Huggy mentioned.” Starsky kissed Hutch’s neck.

“Starsk, don’t you want to open Rosie’s gift? I mean she made her family stop by to give it to us.”

“Okay. Where is it?” Starsky walked to the tree looking for it.

“On the chair next to the window.” Hutch waited on the couch until Starsky found the gift and joined him.

Starsky tore the paper off to reveal a picture frame and in the frame was a child’s crayon drawing. There were two figures, one with yellow straight hair and the other with brown curly hair.

“Is this supposed to be us?” Hutch asked, looking from the picture to his lover.

“Yeah, I think it is.” He smiled.

In the picture, the two figures were holding hands with a blue sky, a bright yellow sun in the corner and birds – shaped like W’s drawn throughout the blue sky and flowers were coming out of green grass below them. Around all the figures were lots of red hearts.

“She drew us and the love we have for each other.” Hutch looked at Starsky with tears in his eyes. “That’s beautiful.”

“Yeah. It’s the way she sees us, and it’s beautiful.” Then Starsky looked at his lover and whispered, “You’re beautiful.”

“So are you.” Hutch leaned in to give Starsky a deep kiss. “I love you so much. Thank you for helping me enjoy Christmas again. This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”

“I can’t remember a better Christmas than this one with you. Merry Christmas Hutch.”

“Merry Christmas Starsk. Now let’s go upstairs and give each other our special gifts.”

“What about the dishes in the sink?”

“Tomorrow.” Hutch extinguished the fire in the fireplace, then took Starsky’s hand and led him up to their bedroom-- where they continued to have a merry little Christmas.

The End